Ewing’s sarcoma (ES) is a common pediatric bone cancer often diagnosed between the ages of 10 and 20 years. Despite primary treatments consisting of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery of local tumors, there is a five-year survival rate of 30%, showing the need for alternate treatments to be developed.<br/>            Ajulemic acid (AJA) and cannabidiol (CBD) are derivatives of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in the marijuana plant. AJA is a completely synthetic model with a close structure to that of THC-11-oic acid, while CBD is a naturally-occurring cannabinoid. Cannabinoids have been shown to display powerful anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and tumor-selective apoptotic effects. The two listed above are important as they produce no psychoactive effects.<br/>            In collaboration with UAMS, we used mass spectrometry to analyze protein expression in AJA-treated, CBD-treated, or untreated control Ewing’s sarcoma cells.  CD99 was found to be down regulated in the experimental samples as compared to controls. CD99 is a transmembrane protein that has been shown to relate to cell adhesion, apoptosis, cell differentiation, and regulation of other transmembrane proteins. Importantly, high CD99 expression has been noted in Ewing’s sarcoma tumors, and knock-down of this expression increases differentiation of tumor cells and decreases ES cells’ ability to form tumors and bone metastases in mouse models.<br/>            In this study, we used western blots to confirm differential regulation of CD99 and explored its potential role in regulating apoptosis in ES.<br/>

Effect of cannabinoid treatment on CD99 expression in Ewing’s sarcoma

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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